A rousing second-half display, an own goal for the ages, and two gilt-edged chances late on – Saffa Michail was at Deepdale on Monday to see QPR’s recent uptick continue.
I’m not sure what it is about Preston and Deepdale, but it’s comfortably my least favourite away day of the season. That’s despite three straight wins here. It makes no sense.
Maybe it’s the lingering trauma of Jon Parkin throwing his weight around to snatch a late playoff spot in 2009. Or Alex Neil schooling our wet-behind-the-ears squad in the dark arts of the game. Or perhaps it’s the memory of them shamelessly time-wasting, holding the ball in the corner for what felt like half an hour at Loftus Road a few seasons ago. Whatever it is, this club live in my head rent free.
QPR arrived in form - the dangerous kind. Three wins on the bounce, each more convincing than the last. Goals flowing, cartwheels and backflips galore. Preston, by contrast, have been wretched since the turn of the year, transforming a surprise play-off push into their usual combination of lower midtable finish and restless locals.
With "Storm Dave” threatening the North and all the talk of danger-to-life conditions, I prepared and wrapped up for the worst… Jumper, coat, extra layers, the full works. Naturally, I arrived to what felt like the warmest day ever recorded in Lancashire.
Melting in the stands, we looked on as Julien Stéphan named an unchanged line-up, with 16-year-old Leon Scarlett preferred to the out-of-sorts Koki Saito.
The opening exchanges were predictably scrappy. Preston fashioned the first real chance, impressive Spurs loanee Alfie Devine’s effort deflecting narrowly wide with Walsh beaten. From the resulting corner, the ever loveable Milutin Osmajic flicked on for Lewis Dobbin, whose scuffed effort was easily gathered.
QPR responded. After a lung-bursting recovery run, Mbengue produced a perfectly timed sliding tackle to halt a dangerous break - drawing one of the loudest cheers of the afternoon. With possession restored, Morgan clipped the ball out wide to Rhys Norrington-Davies whose disguised pass found Smyth, but he could only snatch at his effort despite a recent hot run of form, and saw the ball bounce harmlessly wide.
Much better was to follow, and with what was unquestionably the best move of the half QPR came within inches of going ahead. A nice interchange out wide between Smyth and Vale saw the latter square the ball to Kolli, he spun his marker with his first touch and teed the ball up for Varane with his second… After finding a yard of space, Varane saw a rasping drive from distance fizz just wide of the post with the keeper scrambling. It’s been a relief to see Varane recovering some sort of level over Easter.
Beyond that, Preston had plenty of the ball but did little with it. Vale came close again with a teasing delivery that was just nipped off of Kolli’s toes, while Mbengue tried his luck from ridiculous distance which was comfortably saved. Half-time. 0–0. Each side with a solitary short on target.
Sadly, as has become a worrying habit, we started the second half poorly - and paid for it instantly. QPR went on a high press and once Morgan had missed the intercept on a pass from one-time Rangers transfer target Ben Whiteman the visitors were busted down the middle. The pass took half a dozen players out of the game and left QPR horribly exposed and Devine was able to square for Potts to finish first time past Walsh whose footwork and reactions have to be questioned again.
There’s plenty of finger pointing to be had about how the opposition has managed to get into such an advanced, dangerous position without us laying a glove on them - but the keeper just has to be doing better here. The keeper appeared to slip at the point Potts hit his shot. One nil either way and another goal in the ten minutes straight after half time to add to our collection – 16 of those in all comps now, including in both games against Preston, 23.5% of all the goals we’ve conceded.
This is usually the point where games at Deepdale slide away from you. Preston lean into their strengths and you spend the next 45 minutes chasing second balls and your own sanity. As substitutes trundled on and off, physios were summoned and sent away, and long drawn out debates were held over who would take every throw and free kick, you wondered whether the ball would ever come back into play again. The game felt certain to drain away into a forgettable 1-0 away loss.
To QPR’s credit, the response was immediate... Paul Smyth, brimming with confidence after three goals in his previous two games and in the form of his career, picked the ball up from around the half way line, turned his man and raced through on goal… Kone freed up some space with some good movement, and Smyth let fly from the edge of the box but saw his effort crash off the inside of the post.
Belief spread through the away end. Kone grew into the game, Vale found space, and suddenly Preston were on the back foot. Chances came - Morgan and Vale both blazing over, Kolli flashing one wide from a near impossible angle.
With 20 minutes left, changes came. Poku replaced Smyth, while Kone, struggling with a hamstring, somehow soldiered on. The former Wycombe man put in an immense shift as the lead man against three centre halves here. Bennie was introduced for Kolli and Hayden replaced Varane.
It almost paid immediate dividends. Edwards played a long ball forward to Kone out wide, with his first touch he killed the ball dead and his second he nutmegged the opposition full back and set Poku away… Poku’s body feint sold his man, and the resulting cross was just nodded off course by Bennie with Vale advancing at the back post.
Another lovely bit of hold up play from Kone saw the ball fed in behind the defence, Bennie robbed Gibson and was immediately hauled down before the move could materialise. Thick yellow.
We were having untold joy down the left-hand side of the pitch, and Kone picked the ball up from the halfway line, jogged down the whole left wing unopposed before cutting in and scuffing his effort straight at Iversen in the Preston goal from the edge of the box.
Scuffing was definitely the theme in that area of the pitch - but nobody could have foreseen the pure, unadulterated footballing theatre that we were about to witness.
A quick throw from Walsh set Norrington-Davies away down the left wing, and he centred the ball to Kone who had a flurry of players swarming… With Vale advancing, Kone’s delicate pass found him on the byline, and Vale’s first time cross bobbled harmlessly towards Thierry Small on the six yard-line, as he wound up and shaped to boot clear… What followed was the mother of all top slices - we’re talking Wimbledon final levels of rotation here - a piece of contact so gloriously wrong it became right, defying several known laws of physics as the ball arced majestically beyond the keeper and spinning into the bottom corner. A moment of pause as everybody tried to compute what they’d just seen. QPR have now had six own goals scored in their favour this season (including in both games against Preston), but this was the craziest of this or any other season.
Away end cackling, QPR buoyant and Preston retreating.
Come on You R’s.
The back-slapping and laughter had barely ceased before we were right back on the charge. Good work from Poku set Mbenhue away down the right, but his drilled effort was hacked clear before falling back to Poku on the edge of the box… Poku found Vale on the wide left, whose typically perfect delivery was planted straight on Bennie’s head, unmarked from six yards out, he made a clean contact but didn’t pick a side, and Iversen clawed the ball over the bar for another corner. Probably should have scored.
QPR throwing the proverbial kitchen sink at it, but hit on the counter direct from the resulting corner, the ball eventually recovered by Walsh and immediately pumped forward. With little more than two minutes remaining a snapshot from Poku flies just wide of the post and the fourth official signals that we’ll have sieven minutes injury time. Absolute chaos, but you felt we had another chance in us, and what a glorious one it was.
With a mere 90 seconds remaining, another Preston error, and Poku picks up the loose ball up in the centre of the pitch, he skips around his man and clips the ball forward to Kone who is tightly marked on the edge of the box, his fake shot takes one defender out the game, and with the other committing, he sets the ball up for Bennie who is unmarked to his left… With just the keeper to beat, his hesitant finish is struck straight at the keeper and there ends our final chance of the game. Definitely should have scored.
A point that that on another day could easily have been three – and on another day, probably should have been.
Links >>> Ratings and Reports >>> Message Board Match Thread
Preston: Iversen 7; Storey 6, Gibson 6, Hughes 6; Offiah 5 (Valentin 46, 6), Potts 7 (Moran 66, 5), Whiteman 6, Devine 7, Vukcevic 6 (Small 66, 4); Osmajic 5, Dobbin 6 (Jebbison 77, 5)
Subs not used: Lindsay, Cornell, Lukovic, Nelson, Smith
Goals: Potts 46 (assisted Devine)
QPR: Walsh 5; Mbengue 7 (Clarke-Salter 85, -), Dunne 6, Edwards 7, Norrington-Davies 7; Vale 7, Varane 6 (Hayden 73, 6), Morgan 6, Smyth 7 (Poku 67, 6); Kone 8, Kolli 6 (Bennie 72, 5)
Subs not used: Adamson, Cook, Hamer, Esquerdinha, Scarlett
Goals: Small own goal 82 (assisted Vale)
Yellow Cards: Varane 14 (foul), Morgan 65 (foul)
QPR Star Man – Richard Kone 8 A high mark, and star man award, without scoring a goal, shows how much his all round game seems to be growing and improving. Looked a real handful all afternoon. A very exciting prospect for next season.
Referee – Thomas Kirk (Wilmslow) 6 Few little niggles (Smyth getting chopped first half with no comeback once the ball had gone out) but added plenty to the end of the game after all the second half stoppages and wasn't too bad overall.
Attendance 15,046 (826 QPR) That’s the advance sales figure from QPR, there were cash sales on the day as well. To take that, on Easter Monday, with no trains running, for an end of season dead rubber is pretty good going.
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